De Berkel

affiliate

De Berkel, a company for professional clothing, joined FWF in 2007. De Berkel currently has production in Moldova and Poland.

• Performance Check September 2009
• Performance Check January 2011
• Performance Check May 2012

De Berkel meets most of FWFs management system requirements. Its sourcing practices support effective implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices.

Maintaining long term relationships with their suppliers is an important part of De Berkel’s sourcing strategy. De Berkel has a business relation for more than 5 years with suppliers that account for 80% of its total purchasing volume. The company has substantial leverage to effectively request improvements in working conditions. Two of the production sites are currently owned by De Berkel.

De Berkel has been a member since 2007 and meets the required threshold to monitor at least 90% of its purchasing volume. Production sites are frequently visited (once a month) by production managers. De Berkel has not monitored working conditions in factories in India and China, where orders are placed through an agent.

In 2010, FWF was able to verify that improvements were realised in one of the factories in Moldova. Improvements were realised on fire safety, there was good drinking water, emergency exits were in place and documents were better organised. An audit to verify improvements in a factory in Ukraine showed no findings on forced labour, child labour and discrimination. De Berkel conducted a productivity assessment in a factory in Ukraine to research salary levels in relation to working hours and productivity.

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